Grassroots music venue sector on brink of collapse following Plan B announcement

Last week UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the decision to move to Plan B in England due to the spread of the Omicron variant. Last night (14 December) MPs voted on the Plan B restrictions, and despite 98 Conservative MPs voting against plans for mandatory Covid passes for large venues in England, a majority of 243 votes was achieved through Labour support.

As of today (15 December), the new measures mean gig and nightclub attendees will need to show proof of double-vaccination or a negative PCR/lateral flow test result (received within 48 hours before the event). Sky News reports that the new rules apply to indoor unseated venues able to host more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with a capacity of more than 4,000 people, and any event with over 10,000 people.

Yesterday (14 December) it was reported that up to 40% of ticket holders aren't showing up to events due to the pandemic, and a new survey conducted by Music Venue Trust reveals that the grassroots music venues are "back on red alert for the risk of permanent closures" following Plan B and the Omicron variant, which has seen the sector lose nearly £2 million in one week.

The survey, which was circulated amongst the Music Venues Alliance - featuring 918 of the UK's grassroots music venues (GMVs) - shows that over 86% of GMVs have experienced a negative impact, and 76% saw a decrease in their gross income in the week commencing 6 December.

Nearly 80% of GMVs also reported a increase in no-shows (advance ticket buyers who didn't turn up) last week, with an average increase of 23.1%. The survey estimated that 142,772 ticket holders didn't attend shows.

Last week, 60.9% of GMVs also had to cancel at least one event due to a performer/touring member testing positive for COVID, or private hire organisers cancelling, or through poor sales performance.

Beverley Whitrick, Strategic Director MVT said, "This is the busiest time of the year for grassroots music venues, representing more than 20% of their annual income being raised during the party season. Rapid declines in attendance at this time of year represent an exponential threat to the whole sector, and losses of this magnitude cannot be sustained without throwing hundreds of music venues into crisis mode and at risk of permanent closure. A ‘no show’ isn’t just lost ticket income, it’s lost bar take and excess staff costs."

Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd continued, "It feels like we are back exactly where we were in March 2020, when confusing government messaging created a ‘stealth lockdown’ – venues apparently able to open but in reality haemorrhaging money at a rate that will inevitably result in permanent closures unless the government acts quickly to prevent it."

"We have been here before," Davyd added. "This time the government already has all the tools in place that it needs to manage this impact and prevent permanent closures in the grassroots music venue sector. The Culture Recovery Fund can be swiftly adapted to mitigate this economic impact, the money is already there and waiting, we just need the Secretary of State to act quickly. The government previously used Business Rate suspension and VAT cuts to support and sustain the sector. We don’t need to spend time considering the situation; the government already knows what can be done and can choose very quickly to do it."